The Game – Gangsta Grillz: E.M.N.T – The Credits (Album Review)

The Game raps like he doesn’t give two s**ts in “Gangsta Grillz: E.M.N.T – The Credits.”

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TOP 5 SONGS

Honorable Mention. Whatever

~~Alright, I’ll be real: I love violence in hip-hop. On this track, The Game throws ruthless shots at his peers, flexing just how much realer and sharper he is than everyone else.~~

~~The punchlines hit hard, and the disrespect is maxed out, but the audio quality? I don’t love it. The track sounds like some posthumous s**t dug up from the basement of some abandoned hood building.~~

5. You’s A Virgin (Ft. Boosie Badazz)

This song is wild for a bunch of reasons. First off, The Game straight-up jacks Cardi B’s flow for both his verses and the hook, which I did not see coming at all. Then there’s the absolutely unhinged chorus where he continuously calls people “virgins” for not killing anyone (Yikes). Add in a Boosie Badazz feature (which is already chaos by default), and you have wahala at a very toxic level. All that said, the record is catchy as hell and smacks harder than Dennis Schroder.

4. Steffon Digg Her Out

The voice The Game uses when he’s on his playa s**t has always been fire, to me. On this track, he brings that voice out fully, talking about getting in his girl’s guts like a tapeworm throughout. I love how the track flows. It’s definitely one of the more complete ones on this project.

3. Art Basil (Ft. Swizz Beatz)

I can literally see Swizz Beatz behind the boards going full mad scientist on this track, slamming those keys and stacking effects until it sounds like f**kin Armageddon in the room. What’s wild is how calm The Game sounds over all of it—he’s talking his s**t in this surprisingly unbothered, almost effortless tone, keeping the flow steady while still leaning into his violent talk. That contrast is what really sells the record. The beat is going crazy, but he never loses control, and honestly, that composure might be the most impressive part of the track.

2. Tricks

There isn’t a rapper better than The Game at morphing into other rappers. He’s the Shang Tsung of hip-hop. On “Tricks,” he channels Dr. Dre, turning the track into a fresh, catchy take on “Let Me Ride,” complete with a nod to the Geto Boys on the hook. If you’d never heard the original, you’d swear this track was absolute fire.

1. Brick By Brick (Ft. Benny The Butcher & Conway The Machine)

I miss the days when dropping some cold s**t actually got respect. This right here is some very cold s**t!

The production has this cinematic, slow-burn vibe that hits harder than watching Bo Nix go down in the AFC Championship, while The Game, Benny The Butcher, and Conway The Machine each deliver their signature tough-guy bars using their own unique styles (I miss the days when people actually sounded completely different on collaborations).

Imagine a universe where Benny, Conway, and The Game were all part of G-Unit and had multiple tracks together… that would’ve been monumental.

SONG BY SONG RATING

1. Whatever (3.5/5)

2. Real Ni99as (Ft. 21 Savage) (3/5)

3. Second Hand Smoke (4/5)

4. Art Basel (Ft. Swizz Beatz) (4/5)

5. Steffon Digg Her Out (4/5)

6. Favorite (Ft. Ty Dolla $ign) (3.5/5)

7. Tricks (4/5)

8. Brick By Brick (Ft. Benny The Butcher & Conway The Machine) (4.5/5)

9. You’s A Virgin (Ft. Boosie Badazz) (3.5/5)

10. Something In The Water (3.5/5)

11. Dead Hermes (4/5)

12. It Feels Like Heaven (Ft. Dom Kennedy) (3.5/5)

RGM RATING

(76%)

The Game is one of the best rappers of all time. The Game is one of the best rappers of all time. I said it twice because maybe now it’ll finally stick.

On his latest project, The Game makes rapping look effortless, throwing some of the hardest punchlines in the game today alongside competitive bars, gritty deliveries, clever flows, and yes, some cringey industry-centered lines that will have you shaking your head a little. High-level hip-hop? Absolutely.

That said, not everything lands perfectly. The production sometimes comes off as a little ashy, with audio quality that doesn’t quite match the fire of his verses. And yeah, there are moments that feel like subtle rage-baiting—throwing what could be perceived as jabs at Drake, Cole, Kendrick, 50, and others—but don’t let that distract you from the fact that The Game operates at a high level on this album. I’m sure his forthcoming album will sound way more polished than this. As a matter of fact, the ashy feel makes it feel like a legitimate mixtape.